High rates are still hobbling IPOs

This report is from today’s CNBC Daily Open, our new, international markets newsletter. CNBC Daily Open brings investors up to speed on everything they need to know, no matter where they are. Like what you see? You can subscribe here.

Downbeat markets
U.S. markets dipped and U.S. Treasury yields rose Tuesday as investors braced themselves for the outcome of the Federal Reserve’s meeting. Asia-Pacific markets fell Wednesday. South Korea’s Kospi slipped 0.26% as wholesale prices in August rose 1% year on year, the first time it’s risen since July 2022. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index lost 0.73% as China left its loan prime rates unchanged.

Instacart delivered
Instacart shares rose 12.3% on their first day of trading, closing at $33.70. That gives the company a valuation of just over $11 billion. At its open, Instacart popped 40% to hit $42, but pared gains as investors sold off to lock in their initial gains. The stock also slid 2.73% in extended trading. Instacart gained over $420 million in cash in the offering.

No longer poised to be biggest economy?
China’s policies, such as its security clampdown earlier this year, have hurt its economy. Analysts who once predicted China would become the biggest economy globally are perplexed as to why the country’s blunting its own growth. Separately — but relatedly — China didn’t export any germanium and gallium in August after it instituted export curbs on those chipmaking metals.

Dwindling dependence
The oil market has depended on China for 20 years, said Facts Global Energy’s Chairman Fereidun Fesharaki. That reliance will soon come to an end. China’s demand for oil will peak in the next three to five years, predicted Fesharaki. Echoing that, Wood Mackenzie, an energy research group, expects China’s demand for oil to fall after 2027 as the country transitions to carbon neutrality.

[PRO] ‘Cheapest of all’ tech stocks
The Magnificent Seven stocks have driven much of the S&P’s growth this year. But they are notoriously expensive, in terms of their price-to-earnings ratio. Still, there’s one stock among them that’s the “cheapest of all the mega-cap names” — with durable long-term prospects to boot — according to a strategist.

Markets were in a downbeat mood ahead of today’s Federal Reserve policy decision. Major indexes closed Tuesday lower. The S&P 500 lost 0.22%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 0.31% and the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.23%.

Even excitement over Instacart’s debut on the Nasdaq was somewhat muted. Though the stock jumped 12.3% on its first day, its initial rally of 40% quickly fizzled out. And Arm, which fell 4.88% yesterday, is now 13% below its closing price on its first day of trading, when it surged 25%. The specter of high interest rates is still haunting the IPO market, especially for tech…